The
Lidcombe Program
Is
it effective?
A considerable
amount of research has been conducted into the Lidcombe Program,
and development of the Lidcombe Program continues to be an important
focus of ASRC research. Research to date has shown that for preschool
children participating in the program, stuttering is no longer present,
or is present to only a very mild degree, after treatment, and that
this outcome has been maintained in those children who have been
monitored for a number of years. Preliminary research is also showing
that the program is safe: It does not appear to interfere with parent-child
relationships and has no apparent effect on other aspects of communication.
Indeed, parents report that their children are more outgoing and
talk more after treatment because they are no longer stuttering.
At present, there are two major, international clinical trials of
the Lidcombe Program being conducted: One in New Zealand and one
in Germany.
Some children recover naturally from stuttering. Because
of this, the question is often asked: Is treatment for stuttering
in young children more effective that natural recovery? More specifically,
do the reductions in stuttering that occur after treatment with
the Lidcombe Program reflect anything other than natural recovery?
Randomised, controlled trials of the Lidcombe Program, currently
under way, will explore the efficacy of this treatment and provide
the “gold standard” of scientific evidence. In the meantime,
there is enough evidence to suggest that the program has a powerful
therapeutic effect that is above and beyond the effects of natural
recovery. First, factors that predict how quickly children respond
to the treatment are different from factors that predict natural
recovery and, second, the program also reduces stuttering in older
children for whom natural recovery is unlikely.
|
